Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-07-01
THE PRESS AND THE COLLEGE.

/
Below is an abstract of the address de-
livered on Tuesday, the 2sth inst, before
the alumni of Middlebury college by
George E. Plumbe, Ii. B.. of Chicago,
! ILL.,:
Joseph Cook. in discussing the seven
modern wonders of the world, declares
that "there are no longer any foreign
nation:" that steam and electricity. the
one by facilitating trade and commerce
and the other by giving currency to
thought and discovery, have broken
down all the barriers that ignorance and
eXclusiveness had erected between the
different nations of the globe and have
emphasized the divine truth that of one
blood he hath made all races of men to
dwell together upon the face of the
earth. Who has not been bewildered in
the effort to comprehend the velocity of
the earth in its revolutions on its axis.
and yet to-day the earth is distanced in
its race with the modern means of inter-
communication.
hold in my hand two papers, both
printed in Vermont within the lifetime
of many in this audience. The one con-
tains, among its latest news, happenings
in Cincinnot nineteen days previous to
the date of its publication, while the
other chronicles the occurrences of yes
terday under the shadows of the Hima-
layas and by the shores of the Yellow
sea.
But what is the animus of this inter-
course among peoples? On the pilot of
every locomotive. by the repeater of ev-
cry Geographic instrument. and on the
prov of every vessel on every sea, sit
two invisible spirits at whose command
all these mighty powers have been Gre
ated. whose interests they serve with the
faith of a devotee and the devotion of a
vassal. Pallas and Plutus-the love of
learning and the greed for gain-are the
master and giant impulses of our age.
As there was to the Olympian gods a
messenger with winged feet, so there is
to these two deities common envoy as
subservient and fleet as was Mercurius
himself. This messenger-this solitary
bond of union between the two spirits
that have become incarnate in human
progress-is the modern newspaper, of
which the most perfect type is the pro-
duct of American genius and enterprise.
In Russia a rigorous censorship of the
press robs it at once of its Independence
and its honesty. More like our own is
the press Of the mother country, and if
we could eradicate the element of caste
that still taints English society the great
dissimlarity between English and AM
erican newspapers would disappear. In
America the superstructure of our en-
tire governmental system rests upon the
sutfrages of people wise enough to pro-
tect their rights with intelligent votes
and to the support of the government is
pledged, directly or indirectly. the whole
power and ability of every citizen of the
republic. Ideas among such a people are
generated too rapidly for books or even
reviews, and the newspaper furnishes
them the best medium for the interchange
of thought. For this reason the news
paper in America Is omnipresent, and out
of the $1,000 papers in the world pub
llshed in the English language $1,000. or
more than p per cent of the whole num-
Der, are published in the United States.
But while our institutions have done
much to shape the character of the Amer
lean press. it has also received tone and
solidity from that fundamental element
of American character that demands that
each shall have some reputable trade,
business or profession by which he gains
livelihood. In community where re-
spectability and idleness are never assoc
cated the successful newspaper will ne-
Their be dishonest nor beggar. and this
! leads me to say that in all essentials the
editing and publishing of a newspaper
has in it, primarily, no higher motive or
principle than belongs TO the manage
ment of a market, a farm or any other of
the numberless occupations in which our
citizens are engaged. Charles Dudley
Warner, one of the brightest of American
journalists. said in an address recently
Whatever motive may be given out for
starting newspaper. expectation of pro-
| fits by it is the real one. whether the
newspaper is religious, political. scientific
or literary But while Mr.. Warmers as
sertion is beyond dispute, it makes, in
any given case, a vast difference in the
character and quality of the newspaper
whether its editor uses his paper simply
"a means to an end or whether he
makes it the end itself. Herein lies all
the differences that exist between the re-
putable and the disreputable, the honest
and the dishonest journal. If the making
of newspaper is the inspiration of the
journalist the columns of his paper will
be decent if not brilliant. its utterances
honest if not rhetorical its views candid
if not flattering and its whole tone whole
some and moral if not witty and enter
tanning. Every profession has its hum
bugs and its charlatans, but in the vast
majority of cases the successful editor j.
| the honest one. | am aware that there is
a shallow flippancy that sneers at the We
racity of the press, but charge the fact
that in morality and integrity any news
paper, good or bad. is far above the peo-
pie who patronize it.
The newspaper appeals to the public
for patronage exactly like the product of
any other industry, and publisher has
no right to claim exemption from any
rule in the sale of his wares that is APP
| piled to the manufacture of locomotive
engines or clothes-pns. His goods should
sell, as do theirs, on their merits. The
editor has no right to solicit patronage
upon any other ground than the excel
lence of his product, for such step is
taken at the sacrifice of his independence
and is the first one toward failure. If IA
newspaper deserves success ii will
achieve it. Next to intrepid honesty as
an element in journalistic success must
be reckoned an equally stalwart indie
! no mi a.a,.